The 6'6", 235-pound defenceman was a member of two German league championship teams with the Cologne Sharks (1984 and 1986) and also played for his country at the World Championships of 1986 in Moscow and 1990 in Bern.

Born in Cologne, Krupp was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 13th round, 214th overall in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, and improved rapidly to the point where he represented the Sabres in the 1991 All-Star game. He was traded to the New York Islanders in the fall of 1991, then to the Quebec Nordiques in the summer of 1994. The Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche in 1995 and in the spring of 1996 Krupp's overtime goal, which earned the Colorado Avalanche a 1-0 win over the Florida Panthers and the 1996 Stanley Cup title, created more excitement in German hockey circles than any event since the West German national team won a bronze medal at the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck.

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Originally Posted by APSE

In Germany, Krupp knew a lot about his sport. Or at least he thought he did. But when he arrived in Buffalo later that year, the fall of 1986, his real hockey education began. During training camp, a player took a run at Krupp. Uwe, a defenseman, instinctively sidestepped, letting him pass. When he reached the bench, a teammate yelled, "Uwe, what the hell are you doing? Next time a guy does that, you slam him hard – or you'll never see the end of it."

Krupp did what he was told. He learned to fight. He learned the tough-it-out and keep-your-mouth-shut mentality of hockey. It wasn't his way, perhaps. But it was hardly the last time he would feel out of step with the surrounding culture.

If Krupp's body were a car, he long ago would have exhausted the warranty and the mechanic's patience. He arrived in the NHL, at age 21, still recovering from left ankle reconstruction in Germany. He tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in 1992. In 1993, he took a puck to the head and suffered a fractured sinus bone, which required surgery to reconstruct his forehead.

"They cut you from ear to ear," Krupp says, leaning over to show the effects, "then they fold your skull flesh forward and rebuild with titanium mesh."

He smiles. "I'm the bionic man."

His left knee totally blew out two years later (in the season opener against the Red Wings), and surgery kept him out from October to March of 1996. He rehabbed diligently and came back in time for the playoffs, helping Colorado win its first Stanley Cup. He even scored the Cup-clinching goal, in the third overtime of a 0-0 game against Florida.

That night, he skated with his Avalanche teammates, hoisting the trophy, drinking in the victory.

That night, no one would have doubted Krupp's desire to endure pain to play.

That night was his greatest hockey moment.

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Originally Posted by The Road to Hockeytown

Krupp was certainly a physical presence on the ice when he was healthy and in the proper mindset.

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Originally Posted by Patrick Roy: Champion Goalie

...and rangy defenseman Uwe Krupp from Germany.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sticks: The Rise and Fall of the New York Islanders